PLANiTULSA rescheduled

The three PLANiTULSA small area workshops, postponed because of the ice storm, have been rescheduled for this coming week. Two more will be held the following week, along with a special workshop on transport. Here are the specifics:

• Tues., Feb. 17, Southwest Tulsa, Webster High School, 1919 W. 40th St.
• Tues., Feb. 17, Northland, Hawthorne Elementary, 1105 E. 33rd St. N.
• Wed., Feb. 18, Forest Orchard/Hillcrest, (includes parts of Cherry Street, Swan Lake, the Pearl District, Tracy Park, Yorktown, Gillette, and Terrace Drive neighborhoods), First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1244 S. Utica.
• Mon., Feb. 23., University of Tulsa area (Lewis to Louisville, from I-244 to 15th St.), Kendall-Whittier Elementary, 2601 E. 5th Pl.
• Mon., Feb. 23, Southcrest area (76th to 91st St., and from west of Mingo Road to Garnett Road), Union Public Schools Education Service Center, 8506 E. 61st St.
• Tues., Feb. 24, citywide transport workshop, Centennial Center at Central Park (aka the Boathouse), 1028 E. 6th St.

All workshops run from 6pm to 9pm. Registration opens at 5:30. You're encouraged to register online at planitulsa.org or by calling the PLANiTULSA office at 576-5674.

I hope everyone will make a point of attending at least one of these workshops, even if you don't live in or near these areas.

You can read more about the PLANiTULSA small area workshops in my Jan. 21st UTW column. This week's column is about PLANiTULSA as well, about Fregonese Associates' economic analysis tools, and how they'll help put the comprehensive plan we develop into action:

I have a tendency toward skepticism myself - perhaps you've noticed? -- but I recently got a glimpse of the technology being used for PLANiTULSA by the City of Tulsa's Planning Department and Fregonese Associates, the lead consultants for this project. The evident practicality of their methods gives me hope that the resulting plan will shape Tulsa's future.

While Tulsans are shaping the big picture at citywide and small-area workshops, the PLANiTULSA team is looking at the lot-by-lot economics of different types of buildings and types of developments....

What I appreciate about Fregonese's approach is that they aren't just starting with the big picture maps we made at the workshops and hoping that they'll work out into something practical. They're looking at the small picture, too, practical matters of land acquisition costs, construction costs, and market values. They've given us room to dream, but they're also keeping us grounded in the realities of realty.